Essential Information for Spring Term 2021
| by Mike Roy

We are excited to welcome students back to campus, and to our libraries. As part of the College’s evolving response to COVID-19, the library is committed to helping faculty and students safely access the services and resources they need for their teaching and learning. Here are our plans for Spring Term 2021, with the understanding that as the situation evolves, there may be further changes.
Access
- During Spring Term, the libraries are open to faculty and staff, and to students who are approved for on-campus activities. Off-campus students may enter the vestibule to pick up materials they have requested via the paging service (details below).
- Physical distancing and face coverings are required. We will continue to closely monitor adherence to these requirements, and reserve the right to reduce hours and/or close the libraries should these rules not be followed.
Hours
- While all classes are online during the beginning of the term, the libraries will be closed. We will reopen when in-person classes begin. We anticipate this to be on or around March 8, 2021.
- Please note that during this period you can request materials to be retrieved in the library vestibule by way of the paging service.
All hours available at go/hours/:
- Davis Family Library is open seven days a week
- Armstrong Science Library is open seven days a week
- Special Collections and Archives is open by appointment only. To schedule a visit or in-person class visits (groups of 10 or less) or Zoom visits email specialcollections@middlebury.edu.
Circulation Services
- The stacks are closed. Circulation of books and DVDs is available to faculty, students, and staff via the paging service. Library materials are requested through MIDCAT and retrieved from the Davis Family Library vestibule or in the Great Hall of McCardell Bicentennial Hall. Middlebury faculty and undergraduate students who are not on campus may request that a book be mailed to you.
- Circulation of some easy-to-clean equipment is available as well, including laptops, LCD projectors, projection screens, tripods, Bluetooth speakers, USB DVD drives, and iPads.
Interlibrary Loan
- Interlibrary loan is operating as usual, except that physical materials borrowed from other libraries must be retrieved via the vestibule in the Davis Family Library.
Reserves
- All course reserves are available online. There are no print reserves.
Returning Books to the Library
- If you have books to return to us – either from Middlebury’s collection or borrowed from another library via Interlibrary Loan – please return them to the book drop in the back of the Davis Family Library at 110 Storrs Ave. If you have equipment checked out from the library that you need to return, please email library_circulation@middlebury.edu to schedule a time to drop it off.
- Please do not return equipment in the drop box. If you are away from campus, and need to return library items by mail, please ship to this address:
- Davis Family Library
ATTN: Circulation
110 Storrs Ave
Middlebury, VT 05753
- Davis Family Library
Seating
- Per State of Vermont regulations, and in order to ensure appropriate physical distancing, we have removed 50% of the seating in both Davis Family Library and Armstrong Library.
- Please do not move chairs. They are all positioned in accordance with state regulations regarding physical distancing.
Group study rooms
- All group study rooms are single-occupancy, and can be booked online. Please note that we have added 15 rooms to bring the total number of reservable study rooms to 28.
Carrels
- Per State of Vermont regulations, and in order to ensure appropriate physical distancing, we have reduced by 50% the number of carrels available.
- In order to maximize use of the limited number of carrels, we have temporarily discontinued the practice of providing dedicated carrels for thesis writers.
Support for Research
- Librarians are available online via chat, email, phone, and Zoom to answer research questions.
- Students can book times with librarians for online research consultations via Zoom or phone.
- We invite faculty to request research workshops with librarians for their courses. See Library Instruction for details.
Printing
- Printing is available in both Davis Family Library and Armstrong Library, with modified procedures to ensure appropriate physical distancing and proper cleaning.
- Information Technology Services is responsible for supporting printing. If you have printing problems, you can call, email, or connect with them via Zoom via the Help Desk.
Food
- Because face coverings are required at all times, food is not allowed in the library.
Our most important links
To access Go shortcuts from off-campus type go.middlebury.edu/[shortcut] into your browser.
General Library Information
- go/library/
- Library homepage
- go/askus/
- Contact a librarian (text, chat, Zoom, email, or telephone) for research and other support needs
- go/hours/
- Library hours, updated constantly
- go/librarynews/
- Library news and announcements
Research Resources
- go/librarysearch/
- Starting point for searching library materials: one-stop search journals, books, dvds, etc.
- go/guides/
- Subject/topic-specific guides to the best library databases, journals, and other resources, and contact information for subject specialist librarians
- go/askus/
- Contact a librarian (text, chat, email, or telephone) and FAQs for research and other support needs
- go/ill/
- Information about document delivery and Interlibrary Loan services
- go/journals/
- A-Z list of our journal titles
- go/databases/
- A-Z list of our databases
- go/offcampusaccess/
- How to use library subscription resources from off campus
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions, comments, or suggestions as we work together to navigate this challenging situation.
- Mike Roy (mdroy@middlebury.edu) - Dean of the Library
- Library Leadership Team
- Douglas Black (dblack@middlebury.edu) - Collection Development, Journal and Database Subscriptions
- Ann Flower (aflower@middlebury.edu) - Library Director, MIIS (Monterey)
- Rebekah Irwin (rirwin@middlebury.edu) - Special Collections, Archives, Preservation
- Carrie Macfarlane (cmacfarl@middlebury.edu) - Research & Instruction Services
- Terry Simpkins (tsimpkin@middlebury.edu) - Circulation & Reserves, Collection Development, ILL, Systems
Review FAQs and contact librarians at go/askus/. Or send a direct email to researchdesk@middlebury.edu.
Media Contact
Mike Roy is the Dean of the Library.